We are going through a process similar to the early days of social media. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter brought by Web 2.0 are now evolving into the ‘Metaverse’ with Web 3.0. Technology is preparing to “transport” us to a new world. This new world is called Metaverse!
“Meta” is a Greek word meaning “after, beyond”. Derived from the combination of the word meta and the English words “universe”, the word Metaverse means “beyond the universe.”
But the concept of “beyond the universe” has long been accepted as a “virtual world” and internet environment. With Web 3.0, people were already able to communicate with each other online via digital platforms. Now, is it more than that?
Yes. The Metaverse is most fundamentally seen as “the next big step in the evolution of the internet.” We can say that it is a parallel universe where people enter, wander and feel the environment with all their senses with their avatars representing themselves. It takes the dimension of human interactions much further, to a point where they can live sensorially in a digital universe through virtual reality or augmented reality. If the main thing that distinguishes the Metaverse from today’s virtual world is, it can be said that “the sense of touch is coming”.
Many companies, especially Facebook, which came under the umbrella of Meta, are researching the future of the ‘Metaverse’, while also trying to develop more tools and equipment to make it an alternative world. He announced that he is working on a tactile glove that, when finally worn, will allow users to touch things in this alternate world.
Let’s try to approach what exactly the Metaverse is with definitions and explanations from the experts on the subject. What is the metaverse and what is not? Here are a few expert answers:
“The Metaverse is a virtual environment where you can interact with people. We think this will be the future of mobile internet. Metaverse is a series of sandboxes where you can create, interact, explore with people who are not in the same physical space as you. We call the Metaverse the more immersive and embodied internet where you not only watch but experience in the next platform and environment. Meta’s Reality Labs team is working on tactile gloves to create a realistic sense of touch in the ‘Metaverse’. One day you will be able to feel texture and pressure when you touch virtual objects.” (Facebook founder Zuckerberg)
“It provides persistent, decentralized, collaborative, interoperable digital content that intersects with the real-time, spatially oriented and indexed content of the physical world. An example of a combinatorial trend occurs in the ‘Metaverse’, where a set of individually significant, discrete, and independently evolving trends and technologies interact with each other to bring about another trend.” (Gartner Analyst Tuong Nguyen)
“A virtual 3D environment accessible over the Internet. Users will be able to meet, interact, shop, work, collaborate, have fun, consume and play through their avatars or other digital representations of themselves. They will be able to move seamlessly between interconnected virtual spaces providing all this. The various digital platforms that currently exist, such as social media, virtual meetings, gaming, e-commerce, online collaboration, will all theoretically come together in the ‘Metaverse’ and create virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other yet to be invented. will be accessible via devices.
People will live their virtual lives in parallel with their personal lives through digital twins and may or may not even combine these lives. Facebook and other companies have invested heavily in virtual reality, and augmented reality is now redoubling their efforts to find that amazing app that can take the internet to the next level of connectivity and utility.
The need to replace personal experiences and the need to make virtual reality and other emerging technologies useful and profitable stand out as the driving forces behind the ‘Metaverse’. If people can be given more digital places to go and more digital things to do in those places, there will be more opportunities to get ahead of them with ads and new services. Physical resources are currently limited, but digital resources could be endless. A person can have several different identities and an unlimited amount of items in the ‘Metaverse’.” (Technology analyst Victoria Petrock)
“An immersive experience that engages all the senses that can look as real as real life for participants, thanks to the resolution and quality of today’s technology.” (Tyler Ishida, CEO of Sony Electronics)
“People will be able to play games and watch movies and TV shows on Netflix through Metaverse. It will be very similar to the real world.” (Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite developer Epic Games)
“The meta universe is an independent digital space. It will be permanent and will develop with user-created content. The future that exists at Metavers will enable rapid response to social situations.” (Keith Stuart, game editor of The Guardian)
“It is the creation of an enduring surreal world where consumers can switch between standalone virtual experiences.” (Gaming and esports executive Grant Peterson)
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